Israeli forces have shot dead two Palestinian teenagers near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank after protests against Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The deaths brought the toll of Palestinians killed in the latest flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence to at least 64 in the West Bank.

A statement from the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry said Israeli forces shot a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old in the village of Shuqba west of Ramallah. It did not elaborate.

Residents told Reuters that the two boys were trying to light tyres in protest against Israel when they were shot.